Electra Posted May 13, 2015 Posted May 13, 2015 Miss Americana regarded Aya with compassionate concern. "It's all right," she assured the space traveler, "take as much time as you need. Sharl, could you get her a glass of water, please?" Her instruments were still whirring and chirping away complacently, but she paid no attention to them, focused on the test subject herself. "I don't want to presume," she began delicately, her voice pitched too softly for her assistant to hear, "but that didn't seem to be a physiological response to your powers. You've been through a very traumatic experience, and it can cause lasting psychological damage. Have you been able to talk with anyone and process what happened?"
Raveled Posted May 13, 2015 Author Posted May 13, 2015 Aya swallowed again, glancing after Sharl. Her heart was still thumping like she’d just ran a marathon, but she did her best to keep a calm face on for the scientist. “If you haven’t heard,” she said, her voice harsh, “planets are gettin’ burned. People are dyin’, all over th’ galaxy. I have… special skills. I can help stop th’ damned Communion, push ‘em back into th’ black and maybe save some lives.”She took a deep breath. “An’ now it’s been done. Th’ Communion’s been dealt with, even if we do still have to burn out some drones here and there. So now I’m tryin’ to catch up with my life. Th’ first step of that is findin’ out why my spacesuit keeps channelin’ my powers. I’d rather not be out in space an’ have my suit blow up around me. If I… If I start bawlin’ out in space, I’d like to know that I’m not gonna die, too.”
Electra Posted May 14, 2015 Posted May 14, 2015 "I understand," Miss A told her, voice still very quiet, very calm. "And I'm going to do all I can to help you understand these powers better and get control of them. But it's not at all uncommon for the expression of powers to be linked to emotion, especially when the power is new and developing. It could take months or years for you to reliably control your powers under extreme stress. Managing your completely justified emotions is going to be a part of dealing with your new abilities. If you would like to talk to someone who is used to working with superpowered individuals, I can recommend someone on Terra, but you may find it easier to talk with another Lor. Talking to someone, though, is a good idea. Could you remove the arm piece of your armor for me, please?"
Raveled Posted May 15, 2015 Author Posted May 15, 2015 Aya called up a control screen on her gauntlet, and after a moment of work the armor over her right arm unsealed with a barely-audible hiss. She took off her gauntlet first, then carefully disengaged each section of armor in turn and laid them on a convenient table. Underneath was a navy blue fabric that looked and felt like some kind of embroidered wool; she opened the skinsuit by pressing her thumbnail into a notch at the base of her hand, then peeled it off her hand and peeled the fabric back along a seam that opened along the underside of her arm. The skin underneath was brown and smooth and unscarred, and when she formed a fist her muscles stood out clearly."I'm not lookin' for a friend," she said as she went through the motions. "I came here because Terran scientists have spent more time pokin' at folks with weird powers than Lor scientists. End'a sentence. I didn't expect t' get a psychoanalysis thrown in with my check-up," she added sarcastically.
Avenger Assembled Posted May 15, 2015 Posted May 15, 2015 Citizen returned with Aya's water, chemically processed water in a plasticized celluose fiber cup, having delayed to make sure the conversation with Miss Americana hadn't gone in the wrong direction. With a glance at Miss A to make sure it was all right, he offered more than just water to his countryman, "You'd be surprised what Terrans know how to do, scientist, psychologist, or superhero. I went to school with a girl who was just an animate psionic projection left behind after her organic body died - like somebody's ESP avatar come to life. She was nothing but emotions, all tied together, giving her power." At least, that was how he remembered Kimber - who hadn't seemed interested in renewing things even after his return. "But people on Terra were able to help her hold herself together, and now she's still out here in the world doing good." He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets, not wanting to push the other Lor too far. "Are you posted somewhere that you're near other veterans?" he asked quietly.
Raveled Posted May 15, 2015 Author Posted May 15, 2015 Aya took the water in her gauntleted hand with a nod, sipping it once to be polite and then setting it aside. "I can't rightly say," she said, her words slow and carefully chosen. "Before all this I was part of... part of Outback Overwatch Patrol & Survey, assigned to th' sector with Earth in it." She didn't know if either the Terran or Sharl knew the different branches of the Lor government, but she didn't linger. "Now, though, I've been approached with an offer for a different job. This fight with th' Communion has revealed a lot of forces in th' galaxy that aren't Lor, or Grue, or Khanate. Folks that aren't like the Gorgon or the Curator, that are fightin' the good fight but aren't part of anythin' bigger. Apparently someone's been thinkin' about how to keep an eye on those folks, and they want me on-board with them." She shook her head softly. "They're callin' it ALIENS."
Electra Posted May 25, 2015 Posted May 25, 2015 "ALIENS, huh?" Miss A repeated with a half-smile. "I suppose everyone's an alien to someone on a team like that. It sounds like it could be really valuable, especially while so many areas are vulnerable right now." She looked momentarily towards the ceiling, where several scanning instruments were obligingly lowering themselves on crane arms to scan and record the gauntlets. She herself turned her attention to Aya's arm, running her scanner over it from an inch or two away. "I can definitely see where your innate power is starting to wear on the power transfer circuits in your equipment," she said with a nod. "They're not designed to carry that sort of energy, and you're going to start seeing more faults and shorts, if not outright failures. I think we might be able to redesign some of the components to make them more compatible."
Avenger Assembled Posted May 28, 2015 Posted May 28, 2015 "What do you think?" asked Sharl as he and Miss A worked on the arm. "A compiled carbodinium matrix? We could liquid-mold inject it right into the arm's circuitry, save us the effort of actually field-stripping the entire suit." He was pretty sure Miss A was already on that - but on the other hand he always liked the look on her face when he said the right thing. To Aya, he went on in his archaic accent, "Well, hopefully you'll all get them in the Republic one of these days. I'm still holding out hopes for Terra in a standard lifetime. I'm still a citizen, everyone in Tronik is a citizen, since we're not going anywhere anytime soon, what we need is the Republic to come to us." He smiled, though there was pain around the edges.
Raveled Posted June 9, 2015 Author Posted June 9, 2015 Aya eyed the scanning devices as they went to work on her armor section. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Terran exactly, it was just that the armor was precious to her and if someone tore it apart and she couldn't get it replaced... She didn't know what kind of resources ALIENS could draw on, but she didn't want to risk her armor. "Terrans have been very helpful in th' fight. I saw some Terrans do pretty amazing things in a fight."She waited until Miss Americana stepped away for a minute. She leaned closer to Sharl and spoke quietly, switching to Lor for the conversation. "<Don't you get worried about them?>" She glanced at the scientist. "<Terrans do so many things that shouldn't be possible. If they're in th' Republic, how will we regulate all of 'em?>"
Avenger Assembled Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 Sharl coughed. "<I do worry about them - and that's why I think the Republic is the best place for them. The Lor are the most civilized people in the Galaxy - and I think they'd do a lot of good for Terra, just like Terra would do a lot of good for them. Terra deserves access to the kind of technology that will let them feed and clothe all their people; and I think the Republic could use some of the Terran spirit to keep it fresh.>" He carefully didn't look at Miss A as he went on - not wanting to embarrass his fellow Lor. "<You know, Miss A speaks Standard Lor if you want to talk politics with her too. She was there at the battle of the Gorgon with the Praetorians and those bounty hunters. I just speak High Lor because it's how I grew up. Tronik was cut off from the Republic for a long time.>"
Electra Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 "<You probably don't have to worry about Terra joining the Republic for a long time, if ever,>" Miss A commented cheerfully in flawless Standard Lor, confirming Sharl's statement of a moment earlier. "<We're independent sorts, and more than a little suspicious of organized groups. We haven't even been able to organize our own planet, much less unite to provide a single voice to a larger group. And thus far our dealings out in space are mostly confined to trying to stop disasters before they hit our poor little blue world.>" She smiled, shrugged. "<I'm sorry, I didn't consider that you'd be more comfortable communicating in Lor. And I think the compiled matrix will work just fine, Sharl, can you program in the parameters and get the carbodinium fabricating?>"She took another tool and began scanning the gauntlet again. "<Do you find yourself taking your armor underwater very often, or into highly acidic environments? Do you ever have to spend longer than twenty-four hours with the armor exposed to vacuum?>"
Raveled Posted June 16, 2015 Author Posted June 16, 2015 Aya blinked and her cheeks colored. “I didn’t mean to insult you,” she said, switching back to the Terran’s tongue. “I didn’t realize you knew any dialect of Lor, though.” She glanced at Sharl; she didn’t quite buy that any Terran could learn Lor without someone to teach them. “Th’ suit is rated for negative an’ positive pressure environments, an’ for operation for roundabout eighteen hours without refills,” she said. “I’ve never had cause to use that much, but I’d rather keep it available if that’s an option. I’ve never used it against anythin’ harsher than a cyanide or methane-oxide atmosphere.”
Avenger Assembled Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 "How long are you in-system?" inquired Sharl as he assisted Miss A. "Sol's gas giants get pretty exotic once you get down towards the liquid core - and you don't have to worry about Jovian life or rare element pirates while you're down there. Might be worth testing what you've got here before you go take it out into the rest of the Galaxy." He procured an electrostatic scanning tool for Miss America, keeping up his conversation with Corona. "Terra's oceans are pretty quiet, too, if you don't mind the occasional cultists down in the depths - you can get about eight thousand meters of water on you if you visit the right areas."
Raveled Posted June 24, 2015 Author Posted June 24, 2015 Aya coughed dryly. "I've got a couple months' a' leave," she said, "before I have to meet th' Praetorians. That's why I came over here straightaway, to clear this up quick as I can. I wasn’t plannin’ to dive into a gas giant regularly,” she added. “A dive test would be a good idea, though, if you know a place we can get to quickly.She wondered just what kind of cult there was under the planet’s oceans. As far as she knew all Terrans were pure mammalian, with no amphibian-type lines in their morphology. Maybe this was a stable meta line among the Terrans.
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